Guide to Choosing Throw Pillows

We’re always touting how easy it is to breathe new life in your room simply by switching out throw pillows. It’s true, a group of new fabrics and colors can give your space a totally different feel, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to cull through all of the thousands of great throw pillows in every shade imaginable to find 4 or 5 that will work well for your space. There’s an overwhelming selection out there, which makes the process confusing! Well, we want to make things easier for you. Consider this our guide to choosing the right throw pillows for your room.

First, there are a few principals you should always keep in mind:

Choose one cohesive color palette and do not veer from it. You’re going to get the most impact if all of your pillows are either in the same shade or in a pair of complimentary shades.

Shoot for a symmetrical arrangement, whether it’s on your couch, bed, or a window seat. When you’re layering several different fabrics on top of each other, things can get really busy, really fast. We like a symmetrical arrangement because it keeps things feeling orderly and polished.

One simple print, one busy print, and one solid. This is a basic formula that’ll help you narrow down your options. Another way to think about it is — one small print, one big print, one solid. Your busy/large print should be on your largest pillows or the pillow that is front and center, as this print will usually set the tone for not just your pillow arrangement but the rest of your room. Plaids and stripes work well as small/simple prints.

As your move towards the inside of the sofa, the pillows should get smaller. Visually, your largest pillows should be in the far corners, and your smaller pillow should be on the inside. But also for comfort, it makes the most sense to add the large 22 or 24″ pillows on the sides, where you won’t need to move them out of the way. A small 12×20″ pillow right in the center won’t make you feel like you’re perched on the edge of the couch because the pillows are taking up all of the room!

Although decorative, pillows are really meant to add comfort to your upholstered furniture pieces, so don’t go overboard! We’ve all sat down on that couch that is so packed to the gills with throw pillows that you feel like you’re being shoved into a bag of marshmallows. This is not the situation you want to create, so if you have to ask if you have too many, take on or two away!

Once you have these basic principles down, you’re ready to pick out fabrics! This is the fun part, but also the time when we become the most confused. There are just so many options! To narrow it down, consider the style you’d like to create in your home.

Bold Solids

If your room already has a lot of patterns, like a patterned sofa, dramatic curtains, or a vibrant rug, take your pillow fabrics down a notch. Or if you really like color but don’t want to use a vibrant hue on large pieces (like your sofa or club chairs) just use solid pillows in very vibrant hues.

Here, we chose two colors that are on the opposite ends of the color wheel (called complimentary colors), a spicy orange and a cool blue. Colors look extra rich and vibrant when placed next to to complimentary colors, making the overall look much more dramatic. Individually, they look nice, but together they really sing!

If you’re starting from scratch, find a fabric, an art print, or an accessory as a jumping off point. For example, we picked the gorgeous plaid throw on the back of the sofa and let it inspire the rest of the space. The spicy orange and navy are both found in the blanket, so we picked pillows in solid shades for maximum color impact!

One Color, Three Patterns

If you want a group of pillows in just one color, choose three different fabrics that work together. We used a very organic, bold print as our jumping off point (the floral pattern in the center), and we balanced the color on the sofa with bold velvet pillows in the corner and plaid pillows in the middle.

The basic key here is balance. The bold pillows in the middle and in the corners help to balance the off-white sofa and lighter plaid pillows. The feminine floral print (our Rayna fabric) in the center is balanced by a more masculine plaid print on either side. And the patterned pieces are a balance to the solid pieces.

So when you’re putting together different fabrics in the same color, just ask yourself, “does this pattern balance this pattern?”

Warm, Neutral Colors

Even if you want to keep your color palette neutral, you’ll still need a few throw pillows to bring texture and pattern to your space. For this combination, we chose a color palette of off-white, taupe, and chocolate.

We started with our busiest print, our Leo Brown fabric, then we brought in a much larger print in a complimentary color, our Buffalo Check in Taupe. Finally to tie these two prints together and act as a backdrop, we chose a solid chocolate brown linen pillow with a contrasting flange.

Simple but Fresh with Analogous Colors

If you like color but want a group of pillows that aren’t too loud, choose colors that are next to each other on the color wheel, or analogous colors. These are colors that have a lot in common but are different, which makes for a color palette that is quieter and more polished.

For the sofa above, we chose pink and orange. These two colors are neighbors on the color wheel, but they’re still a great pairing. We also picked two art pieces to hang over the couch that reinforce the pink-and-orange combination.

For a quieter combination of patterns, we chose a very small stripe in orange (in the center), two larger off-white pillows with an orange medallion, and two solid pillows in Suzanne Kasler’s Peony fabric.

Use Solids as an Exclamation Point

We love the way a well placed solid pillow in a vibrant color can act like an exclamation point on your couch. A rich, sapphire blue stands out the most, even though there are patterns and other colors here too. A solid pillow may seem like a boring choice when there are so many lovely patterns out there, but in the right space, one solid pillow in a bold color can really establish a color palette that may have been hiding.

If you want to breathe new life into your space with very little effort, use a couple of solid pillows in a bold color in your space. Pull this color from other patterns on your upholstered pieces or in your accessories, then use that color in punches throughout your space. This is a strategy Suzanne Kasler talks about using in the spaces she designs.

Streamlined Stripes

If you’re looking for an approach that isn’t fussy, we love to simply pair one bold color in a lush fabric (here we used velvet) with a classic stripe. Stripes are a great pattern to use for pillows because they’re the perfect balance of bold and simple. Our strategy here was easy enough, choose one bold color used elsewhere in your space for three pillows, then bring in two striped pillows for a little pattern.

Let’s Talk Inserts

Ok, after all of this talk of colors and patterns, it’s time to get down to the less exciting details … like inserts. Just like the filling inside your sofa, what’s on the inside is just as important as the outside, even with throw pillows. Pillows are meant to bring extra comfort and cushion to your couch, so it’s important to use good quality throw pillows. All foam throw pillows aren’t going to be your first choice for support when you’re trying to curl up for a nap on your couch.

You don’t necessarily need the most expensive inserts, but do choose inserts that include both feather and down. We’re obviously partial to our own down blended inserts which are 95% feathers and 5% down.

Here’s another little secret when you’re choosing inserts for your pillows. If you want a fuller pillow, size up your insert. For example, if you have a 20″ cover, and you want a really full pillow, use a 22″ insert.

Now, are you ready to choose pillows for your space? Do you feel empowered to mix patterns and colors like a pro? You should!

We enjoy spending days interacting with How to Decorate readers. From answering Design Dilemmas to writing How To articles and working with guest designers, our passion is to provide informative and accurate resources to help people solve their design problems.

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33 Comments

Carrie

September 6, 2018

Wow. How very helpful! Honestly, I think this is the best article I have read when it comes to Throw Pillow guides. It is always so difficult making home deco choices. I found the perfect website for throw pillows – http://www.avigaildesignsathome.com – I love their stuff (throw pillows are based according to theme) and free worldwide shipping is awesome! Hope this helps!!

DEEPA J PATOLE

Heather Daly

September 11, 2018

Hi Deepa,
Leather is a great neutral so you could really do anything as far as patterns or colors. If you’d like to keep things more monochromatic you could layer different textures and sizes of pillows. For a different look, you could also add fun pops of jewel toned pillows as they would pair nicely with a brown leather sofa.
Good Luck!

Caroline McDonald

Marie Manning

November 17, 2017

I have a couch and loveseat in a floral pattern which has many colours in it and would like to know what colour(s) should I choose for pillows; the main colour (rose/rust) or a secondary colour (yellow/gold) or third colour (blue/teal) or a mix of colours? There are also a number of shades of green for the vines and leaves which match a large chair/ottoman as well. I’d like to put 5 pillows on each one. Does this make any sense?

Caroline McDonald

November 22, 2017

Marie,
Send us some photos of your space, including the fabrics, and we’ll be happy to make some recommendations. Upload and send details using this form, and one of our designers will reach out to you!
Thanks for sending in your question,
Caroline

Oksana

Annika Dupree

August 7, 2017

Hi Oksana,
With a white modern leather couch,it gives you a lot of options for pillows-colorful, patterned, or neutrals. We’d love to help you choose pillows to complement the couch and rest of the space! We offer a free program in which our in-house interior designers help pick out furniture, accessories, and fabric, etc. Just send in your question along with a picture of the space here and someone will reach out to you with a plan!

Mayra

July 15, 2017

Hi,I need to put together in my taupe couch some pillows but I don not have any idea about it,my living room has a muted color rug and the furnitures there have neutral colors,needing the suggestion for what color of pillows would helps to stand up the room
Thanks.

Annika Dupree

July 17, 2017

Hi Mayra,
We would love to help you with these decorating touches to your living room! We offer a free design service in which our in-house interior designers help pick out furniture, fabric, accessories, etc. Just send in your question here along with a picture of your living room and a designer will reach out to you with a solution!

Alex Dean

May 22, 2017

We have been redecorating our living room, and the time has come to pick out the throw pillows. I like how you said that something we will want to choose pillows that have bold colors on them. So we might want to pick ones that are on opposite ends of the color wheel, to help the room stand out.

Annika Dupree

June 5, 2017

Alex,
We are glad you are finding the guide inspirational and helpful in your design process. We offer a free design service in which our interior designers help pick out furniture, fabric,and accessories! Therefore, this service might be helpful for this design decision. You can send in your question and a picture of the living room here, and a designer will reach out to you with a plan!

Mini

Annika Dupree

June 5, 2017

Mini,
Since I do not know what else is in the living space, I would suggest taking advantage of our free design service we offer with our interior designers who can help pick out colors, fabric, furniture, and accessories. Just send them your question and a picture of the living space here, and a designer will contact you with a design plan!

Catherine McClenny

May 8, 2017

Would like help picking out throw pillows for my family room:-). It’s a very large space!!! To get furniture that was big enough for the room we had to go with a very big, charcoal gray color wrap around couch and then got a matching “chair for 2” and ottoman in the charcoal gray as well. The furniture came with several, maybe 8, square, charcoal gray throw pillows. I don’t know what these things were made of but they constantly leaked feathers everywhere!! And the feathers would poke u from inside the pillow!! Anyways I threw them all away and now I have nothing!!! I know I need a lot for the wrap around and prob a few for the chair too! Would like to go for a “pottery barn” look without paying a crazy amount of $$!!!!! Please help!!! Was at bed bath and beyond over the weekend and they had a barel of random clearance throw pillows! Was trying to go with a gray and cream color pallet, thought I had picked out a group of pillows that looked good together but first off it was only 5 pillows, which on your wrap around example u have a lot more than 5! Also I thought the prices were too high!!!! I work like to stay in the $8-$17 per pillow price range if at all possible!!! I did buy 1 pillow that I just couldn’t walk away from!!! It’s cream with a embroidered gray pattern and the full price way 89.99 and they had it marked down to 9.99 and then I had a 20% off coupon on top of that!!!!! Help me finish what I started!!

Annika Dupree

June 5, 2017

Catherine,
We would love to help you pick out pillows! We offer a free design service where our interior designers help pick out furniture, fabrics, and accessories. Just send in your question along with a picture of the space here, and a designer will reach out to you with a plan!

Janice

January 31, 2017

HELP I would like to order a few pillows but my trouble is I do not know what color pillows to use. My sofa is light-medium silk blue with a small about of medium brown and gold color. HELP PLEASE…if I am able to send a photo I would be thrilled to because I want a lot of pillows the sofa is 36″ deep and is about 10 feet long. Thanks and Many blessings, Janice

Deedee Lewis

December 21, 2016

I love the idea of using solid pillows with vibrant hues. For weeks now I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to decorate the patterned sofas in our living room because I want throw pillows but I don’t want our family area to be too loud either. What’s been helping is stopping by furniture stores to see what the pillows would look like all together.

Caroline McDonald

December 22, 2016

Deedee,
So glad you found this post helpful! Solid pillows can be so pretty, especially on a patterned sofa. I’d recommend getting a mix of textures — like maybe a pair of velvet pillows in a vibrant hue, and a pair of linen. The contrast in the textures will give them a little more interest.
Best of luck!

Carolyn Daley

September 11, 2016

I too love the decorating advice and have used Ballard for my go to for decorating the last couple of years, love their staff. However this blog on the throw pillows and photos, I feel they are all too ‘matchey matchey’ I like to be a little more casual with my throw pillows on my Sunfest, chairs, and beds. Not necessarily matching on both sides in fabric design or number of pillows. I always find a common color bond however.

How to Decorate

September 12, 2016

Carolyn,

We are so thrilled to hear you love Ballard and our decorating suggestions. We totally agree that there are more ways to skin the cat! This is meant to be a guide for someone who doesn’t feel comfortable about mixing and matching and wants a foolproof method for making choices. That’s why it’s a little on the formulaic side.

It sounds like you’ve got a great strategy for picking out coordinating pillows — a common color bond is a great suggestion.

As with nearly any decorating project, it all comes down to what your own preferences are. We always want for you to choose what makes YOU happy.

Thank you so much for reading How to Decorate, and THANK YOU THANK YOU for your comment and feedback.

Jennifer M.Main

July 17, 2016

I am impressed. I want a 20″ pillow cove in peony. Linen. I love this pink. I have the insert. My original pillow cover shredded on the 4 corners. I will cal to order.. I had no Idea you had a service team to help. Thank u Ballard Design.

Brooke McAvoy

July 8, 2016

I like your tips on a symmetrical arrangement, this type of thing does tend to make it look so put together. Personally, I kind of like it when there are cool patterns in pillows, but I think there should be a theme like these. I think I will take your tip about getting smaller as it goes in towards the couch, but I was thinking of using some custom pillows to make it more fun. What do you think about this?

AK

April 26, 2016

THANK YOU for listing the pillow sizes and fabrics. Only two things would have made this better for me.
1. What was the length of the couch?
2. Showing something besides a solid, neutral couch. Unfortunately not everyone owns a solid couch.

Caroline @ How to Decorate

April 26, 2016

AK,

Thanks for your comment. So glad you found this helpful! The sofa used was our Candace Sofa which is 89 inches long.

We totally understand that not everyone has a solid, neutral couch! Great idea. We’ll try to discuss this soon. One suggestions would be to check out our How to Mix Patterns where we talk about pairing different patterns together. If you do have a patterned couch, this would be a great way to choose pillows.

Caroline @ How to Decorate

July 31, 2015

Hi Dessie,
We would love to help you come up with a game plan for your living room. Simply complete this form (don’t forget to include photos and measurements!), and our design team will contact you with a plan and next steps!
The How to Decorate Team

Barbara Allen-

July 30, 2015

Thank your for the helpful decorating hints. I am enjoying your website. It is very helpful. I am looking for a few pieces and I think I have found what I am looking for with your funiture Thanks again